The International Committee of the Red Cross said 12 hostages held by Hamas were freed on Tuesday.
This exchange is the first time hostages have been released since Israel and Hamas agreed to extend the initial four-day ceasefire. Israel is expected to release about 30 Palestinian detainees, women and teenage men under 18 years old, according to Majed al Ansari, a spokesman for the foreign ministry of Qatar, a major broker in the agreement between Israel and Hamas.
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“A short time ago, the representatives of the Red Cross transferred the 12 abductees and the abductees to Egypt,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said. “The convoy of the abductees returning to Israel makes its way through Egyptian territory to the meeting point with our forces in Kerem Shalom. The representatives of the security system will verify the identity of the returning abductees at the meeting point.”
Ten Israelis and two Thai nationals were released on Tuesday, the Israeli prime minister’s office said, which noted that the hostages’ families have been informed about their freedom.
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Israel and Hamas have exchanged hostages and detainees each day since the ceasefire commenced late last week. Hamas and other smaller Gaza-based terrorist groups took roughly 240 people hostage during their Oct. 7 rampage. Hamas initially agreed to release 50 women and children, though that number has now increased.
The IDF said earlier on Tuesday three explosive devices were detonated in two different locations while terrorists also opened fire at nearby troops at one of the two incidents. The IDF said a “number of soldiers were lightly injured during the incidents,” while Hamas accused Israel of a “clear violation … of the truce agreement,” calling the clash a “field skirmish.”
